1.33ghz iBook G4 review
When it was released in mid-2005, the 1.33ghz iBook G4 was the top of the line consumer notebook; retailing for $999, the 12” device sported a combo drive, 512MB of RAM (upgradable to 1.5GB), a 40GB HDD, a motion sensor to detect drops, bluetooth and six hours of battery life. It was also the last of its kind; Apple announced the intel-based 13.3” MacBook six months later, and it replaced the iBook the next year. Being replaced so quickly, the 1.33ghz iBook is a relatively hard find; not nearly as hard to find as the 12” powerbook, but hard nontheless- five years later, it still sells for over $500.
Thankfully, I managed to find this iBook for the modest price of $250 on http://welovemacs.com (a small business in the bay area); unable to resist my urge to have a real mac, I purchased it, along with an extra 1GB of RAM, and it all arrived at my house three days later in a 3rd party laptop case.
The iBook I recieved is in very good condition, with a tiny crack on the bezel to the right of the screen (I didn’t even notice it until two days in). All ports were operational, and there wasn’t anything in the disc drive. So I was surprised that it took almost 3 minutes to boot up- it was so incredibly slow, that it was almost unusable. Add that to the fact that WeLoveMacs added a password on the user (12345, but it was still frustrating to have a password on it); I had half a mind to just return it for a full refund.
Determined to get it running correctly, I updated the archaic OS version through system update from 10.5.2 to 10.5.8, and recieved excellent results- boot time was reduced to ~45 seconds, and the entire system was much snappier. After applying some tweaks- namely, using xslimmer to remove all Intel code from the fat binaries, switching to the 2D dock, disabling dashboard (people actually use that?), replacing Flash 10 with Flash 9, and upgrading the RAM from 1GB to 1.5GB- performance improved even further. While Flash 10 is optimized for Intel processors, Flash 9 is much better optimized for PowerPC, resulting in much lower CPU usage (~75% vs 100% and unwatchable video). Xslimmer reduced the footprint of Leopard to Snow Leopard levels by gaining back about 6GB of space. Dashboard and the 3D dock freed up more RAM. Replacing iTunes/Quicktime with VLC improved performance somewhat, and XBMC allows me to (almost) play 720p HD video. After all of this, I’m pretty sure that this iBook is faster than a hackintoshed netbook; we’ll find out when I do some speed tests tomorrow.
Final verdict- the iBook G4 is a viable alternative to netbooks, and (if you’re lucky) you can get one for about the same price.
Rating- 8/10
Pros- uhh, it’s a mac. Firewire 400 is cool if you still use Firewire (LOLFIREWIRE). Has a DVD drive. 12” screen is not too big, and not too small. 3hrs 30mins. of life on a five year old battery. Performance isn’t too shabby, although nowhere near a Core 2 Duo (or Core Duo). Has a built-in mic. Most apps for Mac OS X Leopard are universal. Full sized keyboard. Bluetooth.
Cons- The screen is kinda dim. No iSight webcam. Being a PowerPC sucks when you run in to the occasional Intel-only app. Flash 9 performance is okay, but it still chokes on anything bigger than 360p. Speaking of choking, never ever ever choose the “better battery life” option; the processor slows WAY down. 40GB HDD is small, and a pain in the ass to replace.
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